


A Promise

by AuroraRebellion



Series: Archanea Week 2018 [2]
Category: Fire Emblem: Shin Ankoku Ryuu to Hikari no Ken | Fire Emblem: Shadow Dragon
Genre: Archanea Week, F/M, Prompt: Heart, Prompt: Loyal
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-08-14
Updated: 2018-08-14
Packaged: 2019-06-27 05:51:54
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,325
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15679299
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AuroraRebellion/pseuds/AuroraRebellion
Summary: The knights of Altea are close with their liege, and their devotion is unwavering. They are Marth's strength, when he needs it most.Caeda wants to be like them.(Written for Archanea Week; prompts 'loyal' and 'heart.')





	A Promise

**Author's Note:**

> Caeda? Diehard Marth stan thanks.

“Lady Caeda? Is everything alright?”  
She starts and looks up, meeting Abel’s concerned gaze.  
“Yes, of course,” she says. “I was just thinking about things.”  
“Like what, if I may?”  
“Just.. about the Altean knights, I suppose. You’re all so close, and trust each other so much… I’m a little jealous, to be honest.”  
“I think sir Ogma and his subordinates have complete faith in you, lady Caeda,” Abel says. “Just like the Altean knights, myself included, have faith in lord Marth.”  
She tilts her head as she listens, curious.  
“It’s a little different for you all, though, isn’t it?” She asks,  
“Well… Well, maybe it is,” he admits. “When Altea was attacked, everything was thrown into chaos. For quite a while, all we really had was each other. If that doesn’t test your resolve and your bonds with one another, I don’t know what will.”  
“So it brought you all closer?”  
“You could put it that way. Some of us... “ He sighs, glancing away for a moment. “...I think there’s a few people who wouldn’t have made it, if it weren’t for the fact that lord Marth was counting on us. Maybe that drive is bordering on obsessive, when I put it that way…”  
Caeda hums.  
“I think the trust you all have in each other is admirable. Someday, I’d…”  
She trails off, and Abel turns to face her properly.  
“Someday, lady Caeda?” He prompts. She smiles, slight and almost bashful.  
“I’d love to be someone Marth trusts, like he trusts you.”  
Abel frowns in thought.  
“For the Altean knights… It’s our job to be people lord Marth can trust,” he says. “We’ve sworn our loyalty to him- essentially, sworn _everything_ to him, as much as he’ll allow it. As princess of Talys, your relationship to him will probably be different.”  
She falls silent, considering Abel’s words, when he smiles.  
“But I think you’re more than worthy of his trust, lady Caeda. Mind you, that’s just my opinion, but sir Jagen doesn’t seem to mind sending you on scouting missions, and that says something about your skill.”  
She still says nothing, and Abel seems to be content to let the quiet linger between them, until he’s distracted by something else around the campfire.  
They’ve sworn to become people he can trust. Is that how it works? She would be completely alright with pledging herself to something like that… It’s certainly something to think over, though.

 

It’s another one of those nights, when everyone has gathered around the fire, and the energy level is high tonight. They’ve won another battle, so a celebration is called for- and she’s inclined to agree with the call for such an uproar. There was one dreadful moment, when they were outnumbered, that she feared they might _lose_. She’s glad to celebrate the effort it took to turn the tide of battle.  
She sees Marth, on the outskirts of the circle around the fire, and watches him walk away.  
Something about the slump of his shoulders makes him seem tired and worried, and she decides to get up and follow along after him.  
“Marth?” She calls, once they’re away from the noise and closer to his tent. He starts and whirls around to face her. Just for a moment she can see the exhaustion in his eyes, and is struck by the urge to pick him up and carry him off to bed.  
“Caeda,” Marth says, “Is something wrong?”  
“Not that I know of,” she replies, and steps up beside him as he keeps walking. “ _Is_ everything alright?”  
“We’ve won another battle,” he says. “Everyone is celebrating and getting some much-needed rest.”  
“You don’t seem to be doing either.”  
Marth smiles, gentle but bitter, and she’s beginning to see just how deeply-rooted that tiredness is.  
“...No, not at the moment. I have… other things on my mind.”  
She steps up a little closer to him, almost letting their shoulders brush.  
“Such as?”  
“The injuries everyone suffered during the last battle. There was- a mage, of some sort, and…” He slows to a stop, but keeps speaking, voice heavy and soft. “As surreal as it is to say, Draug was hurt. I wasn’t there to see it, but I heard that it could have gone very badly had princess Maria not been there. It’s just... A reminder. An incredibly prominent one, at that.”  
He sighs, bowing his head. The weight upon his shoulders threatens to pull him down, and she prepares to catch him should he buckle beneath it.  
“...I’m rather powerless on my own,” he says. “And sometimes I try to forget it, only for these things to happen and force me to face reality. I rely on others so much… And in return, I can’t even protect them.”  
The sadness in Marth’s eyes jabs at her heart, and the words come out in a rush before she can begin to consider whether they’re right to say.  
“You’re not powerless!” She protests. “The ability to give people such drive- that’s a power, too. Your knights know what they’re getting into, and they do it anyways because they want to help you. That’s why everyone follows you; to us, you… you make us all feel like we can do something. You’ve already given us everything you can, and-”  
She pauses, and Marth fills in for her.  
“And it’s not enough,” he says. “I will never be enough to do what I need to.”  
“You don’t have to be,” she says. He looks up at her, and she takes a deep breath before continuing.  
“You’re enough as you are,” she says. “Because even if you aren’t strong on your own, you have people who want to be your strength.”  
He smiles, but there’s still sadness in his eyes.  
“Thank you Caeda, but-”  
“No, no buts. Maybe you can’t do everything you want to do on your own. That’s why you have your knights, and that’s why- that’s why you have me. And I-”  
Words don’t seem like enough to express everything. She takes his hands and holds them close to her chest, looking him in the eyes for as long as she can bear as she speaks.  
“I want to be your strength. As long as you’ll let me, I- I want to be by your side, and be what you can’t. I want to be someone you rely on, because… because you’re worth it. And I know I can’t do everything on my own either, but together? You and I, and- and everyone else, we can do it. I know we can, as long as you’re leading us. So I-”  
Her heart has jumped to her throat, and she swallows despite her dry mouth.  
“I swear that I’ll do whatever I can to help you. You have my-” She thinks of what she’s heard from the knights as she searches for the right words to say. There just isn’t one that fits all of what she’s feeling, but she at least has something that catches part of it:  
“You have my loyalty, Marth. For now and forever.”  
Marth’s eyes widen, then he looks to the floor, staying silent for so long she begins to worry she’s said something to upset him.  
“I… You… Thank you, Caeda,” he finally says, so soft she can barely hear past her heartbeat still hammering in her ears. “You have no idea how much that means to me.”  
“You’re right, I don’t know exactly how much it means, but I still mean it all the same.”  
He nods, and looks back up, meeting her eyes with a smile.  
“And I give you my thanks. If… If you’re really offering it, I’ll be all the better for having you at my side.”  
She returns his smile, but it morphs into a grin. She feels light, like the first time she went flying on a pegasus.  
“I promise I’ll stay with you as long as you’ll let me.”


End file.
